Letitia James makes her big move against Donald Trump – and there could be more to it
Letitia James is now seeking a $250 million summary judgment against the Trump Organization. There’s a good chance she’ll get it. Even if she doesn’t get a summary judgment, and it goes to trial, she’ll almost certainly win the trial. But I’m more interested in what (if anything) comes next. With all the trouble she’s gone to, it’s always felt like she was after more than a mere fine.
Make no mistake, a $250 million fine would be a crippling blow to Trump’s financial house of cards. He doesn’t have that kind of money sitting in a bank. He’d have to sell off assets – and he’s upside down on most of them. Trump is a guy who needed a bail bondsman last week to help him cover an amount that’s less than 0.1% of what James is seeking from him.
Maybe James’ plan is to simply extract the $250 million and watch Trump’s house of cards collapse. That alone could finish him off financially. But she has additional options beyond that.
This is a civil probe, but James has the option to turn it into a criminal probe and bring criminal charges. She’s already stated that there was clear criminality. So it wouldn’t be a stretch for her to make it a criminal matter.
Of course such criminal charges would customarily come from the DA, and Alvin Bragg has publicly stated that his criminal probe into Trump is still ongoing, even post-indictment. So will Bragg end up bringing charges related to James’ probe?
It’s entirely possible that the $250 million fine is Tish James’ endgame, and if so, more power to her. It’s a lot. But this feels more like the beginning than the end. We’ll find out soon enough.
